The Diocese of Rockville Centre has reached a more than $320 million settlement with hundreds of alleged sex abuse survivors.

A law firm for the survivors says the preliminary settlement was reached Thursday in federal bankruptcy court, and includes about 600 survivors.

Richard Tollner is one of the 600 survivors and is the chairman of the Diocese of Rockville Centre Unsecured Creditors Committee.

"Today is the first victory, but it's a victory that took a long time,” he said.

Adam Slater is an attorney who represents roughly 100 survivors.

"This is the largest diocese settlement in the history of New York state,” he said. "Hopefully, it enables the survivors to put it behind them and gives them some measure of closure."

According to a spokesperson for the Diocese, $234.8 million will come from the diocese, parishes and other related entities. Insurance companies will contribute a total of just over $85 million. Counsel for the Creditor's Committee will contribute $3 million.

In a statement to News 12, a spokesperson from the diocese said in part, “The diocese's goal has always been the equitable compensation of survivors of abuse while allowing the church to continue her essential mission. We believe that this plan will achieve those goals.”

For Tollner, this settlement comes almost 50 years since he says he was first abused at St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary in Uniondale.

"In January of 1975 when I was a teenager, and it went on for a few years,” he said. “I reported it three times and nothing was done at the seminary level."

He says a sense of relief has spread amongst other victims as well.

"A majority of them it's a little bit of relief. A few of them it's a surrender, but a majority of them are like, 'It's time.'"

Gerard Rubsam has been a long-time parishioner at St. Agnes Cathedral. He says he’s happy to hear about the end to a years long battle.

"I just feel bad for the people who had to go through this,” he said. “There's a lot of people who apparently had been really wronged that will be affected the rest of their life."

The sexual abuse survivors still have to vote and approve the settlement. There is no word on how long that will take.

The diocese previously offered the survivors a $200 million preliminary settlement, which was rejected.